Construction begins on $6 million Downtown El Paso walkway

From left, City Rep. Courtney Niland, City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department Interim Director Ben Fyffe, Andrea Ingle of Creative Kids and Jody Casey, of the Bond Overview Advisory Committee, on Monday broke ground on a walkway that will connect the Downtown Arts District to the Entertainment District. (Vanessa Monsisvais / El Paso Times)

Construction on a $6 million walkway that will connect the Downtown Arts District with the Union Plaza Entertainment District is about to begin.

City of El Paso officials held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for the walkway, which will be built just north of the El Paso convention center and will connect Santa Fe Street to Durango Street.

West-Central city Rep. Cortney Niland joined Ben Fyffe, interim director of the Museums and Cultural Affairs Department; Jody Casey, a member of the Bond Overview Advisory Committee; and Andrea Gates-Ingle, executive director of Creative Kids, to signal the beginning of one of several projects approved last year as a part of the 2012 Quality of Life Bond.

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Aaron Bracamontes

"It's our goal to connect this Downtown Arts District, that we have worked so hard on, to the Union Plaza Entertainment District, for everyone to enjoy," Niland said. "It's (going to be) more pedestrian friendly and it's aimed at getting people to come down to these districts."

The project will take 12 to 18 months and will be done in two phases. Once it is completed it will feature shaded structures, a decorative pathway, landscaping and public art.

Fyffe said it will take pedestrians about five minutes to travel from the museums East of the convention center to the restaurants and nightclubs on the West side of the center.

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"We are thrilled about this project," Fyffe said. "What this project will do is take a 20 minute walk around the convention center campus and make it a five minute walk complete with a lit pathway and street furniture."

Planning for the walkway began in 2011 with public brain-storming sessions hosted by the city and Creative Kids. The city also had meetings with local artists and downtown stakeholders.

In November 2012, voters approved two bond projects worth $470 million for improvements to parks, libraries, museums, the zoo and Downtown.

Casey said she believes that once the walkway is completed, El Pasoans will be proud of how it spent their money.

"This bond represents an investment in our community," she said. "It is probably the biggest investment El Paso has ever invested in its community."